Draper belts on agricultural draper headers for combines process crops during harvesting. Draper belts are typically driven by a hydraulic motor which in turn is powered by the hydraulic system of the combine. If an excess of soil contaminates the header, the belt might become misaligned, de-tracked and slip out of the drive pulley. This can result in a damaged draper belt and potentially a damaged mechanical structure of the draper header which can lead to additional downtime during harvesting. The same issues can occur in other agricultural belt systems such as agricultural sorting arrangements.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,735 discloses a device for coding and marking objects and is incorporated herein by reference. The coding and marking system is embedded in the object and includes a plurality of detectable material particles. The detectable particles are arranged in a pattern representing a code. The detectable particles and thus the code are read by a scanner as the object moves past the scanner or a scanner moves past the object. The device for coding and marking objects disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,735 is, in particular, for conveyor belts, conveyor belt connections, and tubular bodies such as hoses.